Refugio

Details

LOCATION: Refugio and El Capitan State Beaches, Santa Barbara Channel, and portions of the southern California coastline south to the Los Angeles area.

DATE: May 19, 2015

INCIDENT SUMMARY: An underground pipeline running parallel to Highway 101 ruptured near Refugio State Beach, spilling over 100,000 gallons of crude oil, much of which ran down a ravine under the freeway and entered the ocean.

RESPONSIBLE PARTY: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.

NATURAL RESOURCE TRUSTEES: California Department of Fish and Wildlife; California Department of Parks and Recreation; California State Lands Commission; University of California; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Department of Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.